


All Signs Point To

by missmichellebelle



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Coffee Shops, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2014-07-24
Packaged: 2018-02-10 05:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2012679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmichellebelle/pseuds/missmichellebelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darren could very well take the shorter, more efficient way to work every day… If not for the signs. The signs are what keep him taking the long route, even if it means he has to wake up an entire hour earlier every morning just to do it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Signs Point To

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/gifts).



> Inspired by [Mandy's AU idea](http://alittledizzy.tumblr.com/post/92644602345/for-the-fandom-meme-p), and, of course, written just for her. <3

It’s the long way to work, which Darren doesn’t discover until after a week of taking it during his commute. One of his new co-workers is helpful enough to guffaw at his mistake and then tell him the _better_ way to take, and Darren just smiles and thanks him instead of starting shit. After all, the guy was trying to be helpful, even if he was kind of a dick in the process.

But it doesn’t end up mattering in the end, anyway. Darren could very well take the shorter, more efficient way to work every day… If not for the signs. The signs are what keep him taking the long route, even if it means he has to wake up an entire hour earlier every morning just to do it.

As far as Darren can tell, it’s a coffee shop, one of those hidden gems that forced its way in-between a laundromat and a Chinese place. It’s the kind of place Darren assumes would be easily over-looked by those who didn’t know about its existence, but every morning he walks past it around 8am, it always seems bustling with morning commuters longing for their first dose of caffeine for the day.

Darren has _no idea_ what the place is called, only that its mascot is apparently a coffee bean wearing hipster glasses, and Darren only knows that because of the signs. This place might not have any sort of indication of what it is or what its called, but propped in the front morning, every morning without fail, is a blackboard that Darren always stops to read.

IF GETTING MUGGED ON THE SUBWAY BECAUSE YOU FELL ASLEEP IS THE IDEAL START TO YOUR MORNING, BY ALL MEANS, DON’T COME IN AND GET A CUP OF COFFEE _,_ the hipster coffee bean tells him that particular morning, and Darren laughs out loud, drawing a few curious looks from passerby. Darren might not drink coffee, but the signs have become his own morning ritual, fueling him with their sarcasm and wit every time he sees them.

SPIDER-MAN WAS BITTEN BY A RADIOACTIVE SPIDER, AND THOSE SAME RADIOACTIVE SPIDERS CULTIVATE OUR COFFEE BEANS. YOU’RE ONLY ONE SIP AWAY FROM BEING THE NEXT SPANDEX-WEARING CRIME FIGHTER.

YESTERDAY, A MAN TOLD US THAT OUR COFFEE HELPED HIM SAVE A WOMAN CRUSHED UNDER A VEHICLE. NO. REALLY.

OUR ESPRESSO IS LOVINGLY GROWN IN THE HERBOLOGY BUILDING AT HOGWARTS. ACCIO CUSTOMERS!

They never fail to have Darren walking to work with a smile on his face, a spring in his step, and oftentimes there’s some whistling or humming going on, too. Laughter is a great way to start the day, after all.

YOU. YEAH, YOU. ARE YOU GOING TO JUST READ THIS SIGN OR ARE YOU GOING TO COME IN? That’s the first day that Darren stares a bit more quizzically at the sign, even if he does still find himself smiling. It’s almost like it’s talking specifically at him, but… That’s crazy. He’s not even a customer there.

OH LOOK, IT’S YOU AGAIN. I BET YOU’LL JUST READ THIS AND WALK PAST ME TODAY, TOO. THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS COME IN AND SAY HI, the sign says the next day, and… Okay, that’s a little weird. But surely a lot of people read the sign and walk past, right?

I KNOW I MAKE YOU LAUGH. I TRY TO MAKE YOU LAUGH. AM I DOING SOMETHING WRONG? These are starting to feel a little pointed now.

YOU WITH THE CURLY HAIR AND THE GUITAR. THE ONE WHO WALKS PAST HERE EVERY DAY AT 8AM. I AM TALKING TO YOU. Yeah, these are definitely pointed.

Darren stares at the sign, and then glances down at his watch, before figuring that he can be late to work. His boss loves him, and, worst case, he can blame it on the subway.

It’s the first time he’s ever gone inside, and it’s not surprising that it smells strongly of coffee… But there’s also cinnamon, and chocolate, and… Oh yeah, that is _definitely_ the scent of croissants. Darren wasn’t hungry, like, thirty seconds ago, but now he’s starving. But he’s also on a mission. Someone has been writing those signs to catch his attention, and he’s going to find out who.

Luckily, it doesn’t take very long. His eyes scan the bar where all the employees are, and one is staring straight at him. Not like a stranger would, but like… An old friend would, recognizing someone they haven’t seen in years. Except, for Darren’s part, he has never seen this guy in his entire life. But if he recognizes Darren, that could only mean one thing…

Darren hangs back, because there’s a fucking line and he isn’t going to be a douche by marching past it just to talk to this guy. So he waits, and he waits, and he’s super fucking late to work by the time the shop finally calms down, but he’s in this now and he’s not going anywhere until he finds out why the sign guy has become, like, hostile towards him for no apparent reason.

Well, Darren never does come in and buy anything, but… That’s besides the point.

The guy seems to be anxiously waiting for Darren to approach, still staring at him with wide eyes that Darren realizes are blue as he gets closer.

“So,” Darren starts casually, leaning against the counter. “I’m guessing you’re the guy who’s been trying to get my attention?”

The guy blinks, swallows, blinks again, like he’s trying to find the words—like he didn’t think his signs would ever actually make Darren come inside, and so he never thought to figure out what he would do in this situation. It’s… Kind of cute, really.

“I don’t drink coffee, that’s why I never came in,” Darren tells him, with an easy smile. “But the signs in the window—your signs, I take it—kind of make my morning, so I still come this way every day, anyway.”

“They do?” The guy finally says, voice quiet and shocked, and Darren grins and nods.

“Yeah. Sorry that I never told you sooner. I didn’t think it would make the sign guy so pissed off at me.” He laughs, and the guy looks down, eyelashes splaying over his cheeks.

“Chris,” the guy says. “The sign guy’s name is Chris. And he wasn’t pissed off, he…” Chris stops, eyes widening again, and Darren leans closer.

“He what?” Darren urges. A few moments pass, and Chris doesn’t appear to be breathing at all, gripping the edge of the counter as if steadying himself.

“He just wanted to meet the beautiful boy who walked past every day and smiled at whatever stupid joke he came up with that morning,” Chris says all in one breath, and it smacks Darren across the face like a plastic food tray, taking him a few moments to process.

“Darren,” he decides on. “That beautiful boy’s name is Darren.” Darren grins, and Chris shyly smiles back. “So beautiful, huh?”

And Chris immediately seems to regret his word choice.

“Can I get you anything or something?” Chris looks away, and Darren, the touchy-feely person that he is, kind of wants to grab his chin and make him look at Darren yet. But he very clearly has some sort of personal-space bubble that he doesn’t want broken, and since they just officially met, Darren probably shouldn’t press his luck just yet.

Maybe tomorrow.

“I don’t drink coffee, remember?”

“We have tea, too, you know.”

“Now tea I can do.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Read & Reblog on Tumblr](http://missmichellebelle.tumblr.com/post/92711557170/all-signs-point-to)


End file.
